A. 
No person appointed to a position in the Police Department pursuant to these Rules and Regulations may be suspended without pay or removed and no person promoted in rank pursuant to these Rules and Regulations may be reduced in rank except for the following reasons:
(1) 
Physical or mental disability affecting the officer's ability to continue in service, in which case the officer shall receive an honorable discharge from service;
(2) 
Neglect or violation of an official duty;
(3) 
A violation of any law which provides that such violation constitutes a misdemeanor or felony;
(4) 
Inefficiency, neglect, intemperance, immorality, disobedience of orders or conduct unbecoming an officer;
(5) 
Intoxication while on duty;
(6) 
Engaging or participating in or conducting of any political or election campaign while on duty or in uniform or while using Borough property otherwise than to exercise the person's own right of suffrage; or
(7) 
Engaging or participating in the conduct of a political or election campaign for an incompatible office as provided in Section 1104(f) of the Civil Service Law for boroughs.
B. 
No officer shall be removed for religious, racial or political reasons.
C. 
A written statement of any charges made against any officer so employed shall be furnished to the officer within five days after those charges have been adopted by the municipal governing body. The person so employed shall have 10 days from the date of receiving the notice in which to submit a written request for a hearing to the Civil Service Commission under § 17-57.
If, for reasons of economy or other reasons, it shall be deemed necessary by the municipal governing body to reduce the number of full-time police officers in the Department, then the municipal governing body shall furlough the person or persons, including probationers, last appointed to the force. Such removal shall be accomplished by furloughing in numerical order commencing with the person last appointed until such reduction shall have been accomplished. In the event the said police force shall again be increased, the employees furloughed shall be reinstated in the order of their seniority in the service. The provisions of this section as to reduction in force are not applicable to the Chief of Police.
A. 
Whenever a police officer is suspended, removed or reduced in rank, the specific charges warranting such action shall be stated in writing by the municipal governing body. The charges shall be stated clearly and in sufficient detail to enable the officer to understand the charges and to allow the officer an opportunity to respond to those charges. The charges shall specify the subsection of § 17-54 which provides the basis for the disciplinary action as well as an explanation of the factual circumstances upon which the municipal governing body relied in finding a violation of § 17-54.
B. 
Within five days after the municipal governing body has voted to impose the disciplinary action, a written statement of the charges shall be delivered to the officer either by personal service or by certified and registered mail. In addition, the charges shall notify the officer of the right to appeal under § 17-57 of these Rules and Regulations. A copy of the statement of charges shall also be served upon the members of the Commission.
A. 
The officer who has been suspended, removed or reduced in rank may appeal the decision of the municipal governing body by written notice to the Secretary at the Manheim Borough Municipal Office requesting a hearing. This request shall be received by the Commission within 10 days after the officer received notice of the discipline. The officer may make written answers to any charges filed not later than the date fixed for the hearing. Failure of the officer to provide written answers to any of the charges shall not be deemed an admission by the officer.
B. 
The Commission shall grant the officer a hearing within 10 days from the officer's written request for a hearing unless continued by the Commission for cause at the request of the Commission, the municipal governing body or the officer. Notwithstanding this provision, the failure of the Commission to hold a hearing within 10 days from the filing of the charges in writing shall not result in the dismissal of the charges filed. The Council may suspend the person, without pay, pending the determination of the charges against the person; but in the event the Commission fails to uphold the charges, then the person sought to be suspended, removed or reduced in rank shall be reinstated with full pay for the period during which the person was suspended, removed or reduced in rank, and the charges shall be sealed and not be available for public inspection in the event the charges are dismissed. At any such hearing, the officer against whom the charges have been made may be present and represented by counsel, may call witnesses and may present testimony and documentation in defense. The municipal governing body may also be represented by counsel, call witnesses and present evidence as is necessary to support the charges. A stenographic record of all testimony shall be taken at every hearing and preserved by the Commission. In the event the charges are dismissed, the record shall be sealed and shall not be available for public inspection. Notice of the date, time and place for each hearing shall be given in the following manner:
(1) 
Either by personal service or certified or registered mail to each of the principals involved in the case; and
(2) 
By regular, first-class mail to all other persons who have stated an interest in the hearing; provided, however, that any failure to give the notice required by this subsection shall not invalidate any subsequent action taken by the Commission.
C. 
In conducting the hearing, the Commission's standard of review shall be to determine whether sufficient evidence has been presented to support the statutory reason for the disciplinary action. If the Commission finds that sufficient evidence has been introduced to support the charge, the Commission shall not modify the penalty imposed by the municipal governing body unless it finds that the penalty imposed was arbitrary, discriminatory or an abuse of the municipal governing body's discretion. In considering the appropriateness of the discipline, the Commission shall not substitute its judgment for that of the municipal governing body. The Commission may request post-hearing briefs and shall issue a written decision containing specific findings of fact and conclusions of law within 60 days of receipt of the hearing transcript.
D. 
Unless the municipal governing body or the person sought to be suspended, removed, or reduced in rank requests that the proceedings before the Commission be open to the public, the proceedings before the Commission pursuant to this section shall be held in the nature of a closed executive session that shall not be open to the public. Any such request shall be presented to the Commission before the civil service hearing commences. The deliberations of the Commission, including interim rulings on evidentiary or procedural issues, may be held in private and shall not be subject to request for being open to the public, the municipal governing body or to the person sought to be suspended, removed, or reduced in rank. The Commission's disposition of the disciplinary action shall constitute official action which shall occur at a public meeting held pursuant to 65 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 7 (relating to open meetings). All parties concerned shall have immediate right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of the county, and the case shall there be determined as the court deems proper. No order of suspension made by the Commission shall be for a longer period than one year. The appeal shall be taken within 30 days from the date of entry by the Commission of its final order and shall be by petition.
A. 
All testimony shall be given under oath administered by the Chairperson or, in the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson of the Commission. The Commission shall have the power to issue subpoenas as set forth in § 17-14 hereof. The hearing shall be open to the public unless, prior to the commencement of the hearing, a written or oral request to close the hearing is made by either the charged officer or the municipal governing body.
B. 
Each hearing shall be conducted in substantially the same format as follows:
(1) 
The Chairman shall state the general purpose of the hearing;
(2) 
Upon direction from the Chairman, the Secretary shall read the written charges against the accused, together with the record of action taken against such police officer;
(3) 
The Secretary shall read any written reply of the accused;
(4) 
The Chairman shall afford each person making charges, or that person's counsel, an opportunity to make further statements in support of the charges and to produce witnesses;
(5) 
The Chairman shall afford the accused, or the accused's counsel, an opportunity to question or cross-examine the person making charges and to question or cross-examine any witnesses produced by such person;
(6) 
The Chairman shall afford each person making charges an opportunity to examine the person accused;
(7) 
The Chairman shall permit each person making charges, or his/her counsel, to make a summation;
(8) 
The Chairman shall permit the person accused, or the accused's counsel, an opportunity to produce any witnesses, who may be cross-examined by the person making the charges or such person's counsel;
(9) 
The Chairman shall permit the person accused or the accused's counsel to make summation; and
(10) 
The Commission, at any time during the course of the hearing, may question or cross-examine the person making charges, the accused or any witness.
(11) 
If the Commission sustains the charges, the officer who was suspended, removed or reduced in rank may file an appeal with the Court of Common Pleas within 60 days of the date of entry by the Commission of its final order. No order of suspension shall be made by the Commission for a period longer than one year. In the event that the Commission fails to uphold the charges, then the person sought to be suspended, removed or demoted shall be reinstated with full pay for the period of suspension, removal or demotion, and no charges related to the suspension, removal or reduction in rank shall be officially recorded in the officer's record.